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THF Monthly Kukai Voting Ballot — February 2022

This month’s theme:
icicles

Voting for The Haiku Foundation Monthly Kukai

Shortly after the conclusion of the submission period, an anonymous ballot comprising all submitted poems on that month’s theme will be posted to Troutswirl (The Haiku Foundation blog) on the THF site. Any reader of this ballot is eligible to vote for their favorite poems at this time. A voter may vote for up to five (5) poems per theme. A top vote will receive 5 points, a second-place vote 4 points, a third-place vote 3 points, a fourth-place vote 2 points, and a fifth-place vote 1 point.

Please use the Kukai voting form below to enter your selections, and then press Submit to cast your votes. No other votes will be recognized or honored. All votes must be signed (that is, no “anonymous” votes will be accepted, and the Submit button will not be available until both Name and Email fields are filled in), and no poet may vote for his or her own work. No commentary upon the poems will be accepted or published. Votes will be accepted from the appearance of the ballot on the 18th of that month through midnight of the 24th of that month. Readers may vote only once per ballot. Administrators of the kukai are ineligible to vote.

Note: Anonymity is an essential part of any kukai. If you know who wrote the poem then that entry is no longer anonymous. Please respect the Kukai and do not vote for that entry.

The Ballot

 

1

      a cold long cry
begging to be given
a cuddle

2

      a constant drip
of the thawing icicles
we finally talk

3

      a drop’s slow journey
to the icicle tip
time crystal

4

      abandoned house —
the wind blows between
the icicles

5

      after years apart —
our hearts in the same rhythm
with icicles drips

6

all the long nights the crack of an icicle

7

      an ice cream parlour
next to it is a child with
a melting icicle

8

      An icicle falls
Symbolising an ending
By correlation

9

      an icicle
melts into its own water . . .
silent eaves

10

      an icicle on my
hospital balcony
how short life is

11

      Anticipating
As the sun slowly rises
The icicles sweat

12

      barely enough sun
to get the snow to cry

13

      beaded lashes
winter queens parade
at the hot springs

14

      border barb wire —
where the refugees cross
crimson icicles

15

      Child gazes upward,
Shimmering icicle,
Popsicle, without a stick.

16

      church bells
ringing louder —
the icicles

17

clear night
the stars
icicles

18

      Clinging to the eaves
Distorting the view beyond
Comes the equinox

19

cold front you speak in icicle

20

cold moon
a phase encased
In icicles

21

      dangling icicles
reach out from skeletal trees—
solemn tears

22

      derelict chapel . . .
icicles beneath the eaves
fill with moonlight

23

      drip, drip, drip, drip, drip
thoughts of spring magnified
drip of icicles

24

      drip : drip : drop
the staccato bite
of ice teeth

25

      drip-drop
counting off its life
the icicle

26

      drip drop drip drop –
turning into lace
overnight

27

      dripping icicles
he wipes away
her tears

28

dripping icicles —
on the pillow lies a cat
belly up

29

      dripping icicles —
teddy bear also has
a cannula

30

drop after drop
caresses —
lucent trees

31

      Droplets dwindling
soggy thuds plunk on mosses ̶̶
dripping junipers

32

      dysfunctional family
every icicle sharper
than the other

33

      even here
ice can’t keep the sunlight still
even now

34

      evening grief . . .
my son breaks a last icicle
from the neighbor’s eaves

35

      falling moonstruck snow
holds the ground in its slumber
whispers promises

36

February heat wave icicles melted into extinction

37

      Fingers, wet, cold, sore,
Runs across the smooth surface,
Melts the icicles

38

      first train —
among the blades of grass
a sound of ice

39

      free snacks —
crunching icicles
street kids

40

frozen stiff
liquid sunlight
in the icicle

41

      glass icicles
she asks me whether
we can store Christmas

42

      glorious morning —
in icicles it thaws
the light

43

      hanging from my roof
drops of life pour down on earth
icicles melting

44

      her smile
still holding the curl
two winters after

45

      Her suppressed voice — those Icicles remains
on the rooftop.

46

      her words . . .
winter drips down
from the gutters

47

      Hiems’ dagger
hangs from our roof
i c i c l e s

48

      his nose
an icicle on my cheeks
— winter school

49

      home this winter too
icicles distance on our roof
shelter in place

50

      I thought
I knew you . . .
icicle

51

      ice freezing — thawing
sharp daggers lace rooftop eaves
no death for choosing

52

      ice grows long
under the cars
Sunday morning street

53

      ice storm
branches clatter
at the glass

54

      icicle breeze
something chimes
between us

55

      icicle drip
on my third eye
spring awakening

56

icicle . . .
how long will he take
to forgive me

57

      icicle
in mittened hands
slurp

58

      icicle lights
at Christmas —
a warm night

59

      icicle lights
the pretense of being
somewhere were not

60

      icicle melts
after her piercing gaze
tears in those eyes

61

icicle stabs
in heat of passion
perfect crime

62

      Icicle taut on awning
waiting for it to fall
drip drip drip drip drip

63

      icicles —
after all those years
frozen tears

64

      icicles . . .
dead tears
my mother’s

65

      icicles dripping from the attic window
mom’s lullaby

66

      icicles
dropping
from
branches
of
family

67

      icicles form
across the sleeping Buddha’s
face

68

      icicles grow
in searing heat,
marital spat

69

      icicles —
hibernating bats
not guilty

70

      icicles . . .
how soon moments
become memories

71

icicles
I still dreaming about
a Jedi sword

72

      icicles —
if this winter
had a mouth

73

      icicles image . . .
the ups and down
of the cardiogram

74

      icicles lined up
along the library shelves
just before icon

75

      icicles melt
a lot of stress
on my roof

76

icicles melting —
my grief moves from anger
to bargaining

77

      icicles melting
tick tock
snowman dismissed

78

icicles —
my mom and I
bite our tongues

79

      Icicles return
building new shapes in the pines
Along the old road

80

icicles row
we sit together
in one sweater

81

      icicles sharpen
in the afternoon sun . . .
Amazon delivery

82

      icicles shimmer
golden in the rising sun
clink on ice below

83

      icicles song
in the hand of a gravedigger
a rusty penny

84

      icicles
spring sun subtracts them
from winter’s ledger

85

icicles . . .
still missing
you words

86

      icicles . . .
the glitter of sunlight
drop by drop

87

      icicles
the yawning cat’s
full set of fangs

88

      i c i c l e s
touch of our hands
melts the chill

89

      icicles . . .
with each drip
the sound of spring

90

      icy daggers
still hold
my heart hostage . . .
your sneer

91

in the teeth
of a cold snap
icicles

92

incense swirls
and extends
a branch of hyssop

93

indecisive
I become
an icicle

94

      January sky
Its sheer so clear, so blue.
Nothing leaves a mark.

95

      Late afternoon
The sound of icicles
Dripping

96

      letting go
of the high eaves —
killer icicles

97

like an icicle
I’d like to just hang around
without growing up

98

      lonely winter morning . . .
icicles cascading
her eyelids

99

      

love in
the afternoon
icicles
shattering

100

      melting icicles . . .
the music becomes
a spring water

101

midnight moon
sound of icicles
drop by drop

102

      mid-winter thaw
the sound of icicles
shattering

103

      midwinter thawing —
the snow, the air, the valentine
icicles gently weep

104

mom’s funeral
even the icicles
weeping

105

more hair in the comb
one by one
icicles fall from the eaves

106

      morning icicles
beneath the eaves
she cracks a smile

107

      morning jog
dodging icicles
shaken off skyscrapers

108

my grudges
one icicle
melts slower

109

      nearing spring
an icicle drips . . .
. . . faster

110

      Neatly placed snowball to catch the perfect sword.

111

      no icicles this year
frost shivers green fields
of winter wheat

112

      Nome’s melting icicles
the world’s oceans
raised in Alaska

113

      noon sun —
icicles reveal secret tears
of the cold moon

114

      off the front porch
icicles dripping
soggy Sears seed catalog

115

      Olympic dope stain
Icicle through the heart of
Skating innocence

116

      orange grove
branches droop with citrus scented icicles

117

      orange peels —
the lonelines of the icicles
in the fountain

118

our silence
sharpening
icicles . . .

119

      overwinter dangling
by an icicle
daylight savings

120

political chill
growing icicles
over Kiev

121

      q u e u e
a man with icicles
on his collar

122

      raging storm
a firefighter
covered in icicles

123

      razor-sharp icicles
drop from the eaves
checking in on Dad

124

      roof icicles
my fingers numb
from chemo

125

      silver wolf fangs
drip with daybreaks spittle
icicles aligned

126

snow fight
a currawong’s call
thawing her heart

127

      snow melt
warm air
milking icicles

128

So comely but cold
like this world. Rigid short lived like a icicle on a early winters day.

129

      so unlike a leaf
no trace of an icicle
after its season

130

      soft rustle
of shimmering pipal leaves
grandma’s stories

131

      spring cleaning
last year’s icicles —
climate change

132

      square transparent
touch and go
hands delicate

133

stabbing
by the rooftop eave —
the icicle its shadow

134

      stalactite . . .
the icicles touch
the ground

135

      sunshine
through icicles
grandpa’s gap-toothed smile

136

thawing icicles . . .
the young soldiers
break into song

137

      The air warms
The icicles fall, shattering
Her cold heart

138

The alpha dog too
even his warm yellow light
frozen in earthfall

139

      the breath of a fox
trotting across the pond
icicle moon

140

      the burn
of the leaf
ice morning

141

      the crescent moon
who will melt
the sky icicle

142

      The drip . . .
Painfully cold and pointed,
his last words to me . . .

143

the first warm breath of spring —
beads of sweat rolling down
an icicle

144

the ice
in your eyes
freezes me

145

      the icicle gives
earth mother receives with grace
precious water
shared

146

      the icicles
hanging on a window . . .
this pain

147

      the last icicles
above the hospital window
notes of Vivaldi

148

      the morning bus . . .
one drip at a time
of an icicle

149

      the naked toes
of Homeless Jesus . . .
icicles

150

      the old woman
watches the sunrise . . .
late March icicles

151

      the seven colors —
sunshine hits
the row of icicles

152

the tip
of the icicle’s glacial longing
for ground

153

      The water dulls blue
Dripped down to form a funnel
It shines in the cold

154

      they hang on the porch
tiny glass ice drops
dipped in wintry cold

155

      through the icicles
through my dreams
melting sun

156

      watching
icicles drip
in grandfather’s mouth

157

      Waving an icicle,
Nature’s magic wand,
Child turns winter into spring.

158

where once there was love icicles

159

      win
ter
wind
whit
tling
an
i
ci
cle

160

      wind-blown mist
as if in competition
gorse bush icicles

161

winter sun —
the sound of transformation joins
the clouds

162

      winter’s escape
each icicle drips
at its rate

163

      winter’s fashion
statement
frozen stilettos

164

      you were here, then not
leaving just an icicle’s
farewell, slow cold tears —

 

Kukai Results

On the first day of the following month, results of the tally of the kukai will be announced. The top vote-getters as voted by readers will be posted, along with the number of points each poem tallied, and each poem’s authorship will be revealed at this time. Winners will be invited to select from a list of prizes provided by The Haiku Foundation. The theme for the new month will be announced at the same time, and the process repeated. Poems remain the copyrighted property of their authors, but The Haiku Foundation reserves the right to publish, display and archive all submitted poems for this and other purposes at its discretion.

Congratulations to all our participants!

 

This Post Has One Comment

  1. I have been writing haiku for the last 60 years but have not done anything with the poetry. In fact, most of it is lost during countless dramatic relocations. I decided to get my haiku more organized, resume learning about it, and perhaps get some of mine published again. I started writing “a haiku a day” and posting some of them on my Facebook group. Yesterday, I found this website and was thrilled to be able to participate in the voting for this kukai. It made me so happy to read such talented work, it inspired me to write one! I look forward to participating in future and meeting more haiku writers here and elsewhere.

    Slurping slender verse:
    Bright icicles delight my
    hungry winter tongue

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